Stephen Belber
Encyclopedia
Stephen Belber is an American
playwright
, screenwriter
and film director
.
. He studied philosophy as an undergraduate at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, and moved to New York
at the age of 25. There he unwittingly moved in with a roommate with AIDS, and helped nurse him for two years until he died. He held a variety of jobs including waiter, substitute teacher, and wire service operator for the United Nations. His first show in New York
was a solo show entitled "Psychotic Busboy Blues". He went on to attend Playwrights Horizons
theatre school where he worked on his third solo show "One Million Butterflies". In 1994 he was accepted to the play writing program at The Juilliard School where he produced his first multipart play "Stone Cold Lyricism".
Also in 2000, the Actors Theatre of Louisville produced Belber's Tape
at the Humana Festival of New American Plays. He then wrote the screenplay for the 2001 film adaptation of the play Tape
, directed by Richard Linklater
.
Belber's next major project in 2001 came from working with the Tectonic Theatre Project. There he researched, was an associate writer, and acted in "The Laramie Project," a play and later a film written in response to Matthew Shepard’s fatal beating in Laramie, Wyoming.
Between 2002 and 2003, Belber wrote for the US TV series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
.
Belber's Broadway debut came in 2004 with his play "Match
". Belber's other plays include "The Transparency of Val", "The Wake", "Through Fred", "The Death of Frank", "Mel and Gene", "A small melodramatic story", "McReele", and "Stabbing". His films include "Drifting Elegant", and Management
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
.
Early life
Belber was born in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. He studied philosophy as an undergraduate at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, and moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
at the age of 25. There he unwittingly moved in with a roommate with AIDS, and helped nurse him for two years until he died. He held a variety of jobs including waiter, substitute teacher, and wire service operator for the United Nations. His first show in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
was a solo show entitled "Psychotic Busboy Blues". He went on to attend Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work....
theatre school where he worked on his third solo show "One Million Butterflies". In 1994 he was accepted to the play writing program at The Juilliard School where he produced his first multipart play "Stone Cold Lyricism".
Career
In 2000 he was the winner of the Fringe NYC Overall Excellence Award in playwriting for "Drifting Elegant."Also in 2000, the Actors Theatre of Louisville produced Belber's Tape
Tape (play)
Tape is a 1999 play by Stephen Belber. It follows classical unities of action, time and space, featuring three characters in a single plot regarding their differing perspectives of past events, in one unbroken period of real-time, in a single motel room set. It was first produced at the Actors...
at the Humana Festival of New American Plays. He then wrote the screenplay for the 2001 film adaptation of the play Tape
Tape (play)
Tape is a 1999 play by Stephen Belber. It follows classical unities of action, time and space, featuring three characters in a single plot regarding their differing perspectives of past events, in one unbroken period of real-time, in a single motel room set. It was first produced at the Actors...
, directed by Richard Linklater
Richard Linklater
-Early life:Linklater was born in Houston, Texas. He studied at Sam Houston State University and left midway through his stint in college to work on an off-shore oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. While working on the rig he read a lot of literature, but on land he developed a love of film through...
.
Belber's next major project in 2001 came from working with the Tectonic Theatre Project. There he researched, was an associate writer, and acted in "The Laramie Project," a play and later a film written in response to Matthew Shepard’s fatal beating in Laramie, Wyoming.
Between 2002 and 2003, Belber wrote for the US TV series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
.
Belber's Broadway debut came in 2004 with his play "Match
Match (play)
-History:The character of Tobi is inspired by Alphonse Poulin, a professor of ballet at Juilliard School-Synopsis:Tobi is an aging dancer, choreographer and teacher who enjoys knitting. His quiet life is interrupted when Mike and Lisa enter his home under the pretense of interviewing him for Lisa's...
". Belber's other plays include "The Transparency of Val", "The Wake", "Through Fred", "The Death of Frank", "Mel and Gene", "A small melodramatic story", "McReele", and "Stabbing". His films include "Drifting Elegant", and Management
Management (film)
Management is a 2009 romantic comedy-drama directed by Stephen Belber and starring Jennifer Aniston and Steve Zahn. It premiered at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival and received a limited theatrical release on May 15, 2009....
.
Writing
- Tape (play)Tape (play)Tape is a 1999 play by Stephen Belber. It follows classical unities of action, time and space, featuring three characters in a single plot regarding their differing perspectives of past events, in one unbroken period of real-time, in a single motel room set. It was first produced at the Actors...
(2000) - Tape (film)Tape (film)Tape is a 2001 drama film directed by Richard Linklater and written by Stephen Belber, based on his play of the same name. It stars Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, and Uma Thurman. The entire film takes place in real-time.- Plot :...
(2001) - The Laramie ProjectThe Laramie ProjectThe Laramie Project is a play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project about the reaction to the 1998 murder of University of Wyoming gay student Matthew Shepard in Laramie,...
(2001) - MatchMatch (play)-History:The character of Tobi is inspired by Alphonse Poulin, a professor of ballet at Juilliard School-Synopsis:Tobi is an aging dancer, choreographer and teacher who enjoys knitting. His quiet life is interrupted when Mike and Lisa enter his home under the pretense of interviewing him for Lisa's...
(2004) - The Geometry of Fire (2009)
- The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later (2009)
External links
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0067619/ IMDB Listing
- Manning, Kara. Stephen Belber head on: the playwright confronts messy reality, from politics to romance, with an unflinching eye and singular voice. American Theatre, Nov 2008. v25:i9:p60-64.